Table of Contents
How do you diagnose DID?
Doctors diagnose dissociative disorders based on a review of symptoms and personal history. A doctor may perform tests to rule out physical conditions that can cause symptoms such as memory loss and a sense of unreality (for example, head injury, brain lesions or tumors, sleep deprivation or intoxication). Symptoms and signs of dissociative disorders include: Significant memory loss of specific times, people and events. Out-of-body experiences, such as feeling as though you are watching a movie of yourself. Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide. To be diagnosed with DID, a person must: Display two or more personalities (alters) that disrupt the person’s identity, behavior, awareness, memory, perception, cognition, or senses. Have gaps in their memory of personal information and everyday events, as well as past traumatic events. Differentiating Between Dissociative Identity Disorder and Other Specified Dissociative Disorder. Some people with OSDD have two or more distinct personality states, or alters, but don’t experience any gaps in memory or amnesia, a necessary symptom for a DID diagnosis. Mental health conditions like DID should not be self-diagnosed, but this list of questions may help you when talking to your health care provider about your symptoms.
Who can diagnose me with DID?
Diagnosing dissociative identity disorder must always be done by a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, preferably one with experience with dissociative disorders. There are people who fake having mental illness for many reasons, and dissociative identity disorder (DID) is one of the many illnesses that is faked. Some people claim to have DID, then come out to friends, family, and/or support groups that they have been faking their DID. Much like in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), people with DID often have a history of trauma and/or abuse. But is trauma always a requirement for DID? A history of trauma is not one of the diagnostic criteria for a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder, according to the DSM-5. Making the Diagnosis: Clinical Description The typical patient who is diagnosed with DID is a woman, about age 30. A retrospective review of that patient’s history typically will reveal onset of dissociative symptoms at ages 5 to 10, with emergence of alters at about the age of 6.
How hard is it to diagnose DID?
But what happens when the diagnosis is wrong? For those with DID and other dissociative disorders, the likelihood of misdiagnosis is high. Research shows that people with a dissociative disorder spend an average of seven years in the mental health system before receiving a correct diagnosis. Dissociative Disorders usually begins in childhood. Despite the early onset, adolescents (12-18 years of age) with DID are less than 8% [7]. Although it is common, it is difficult to diagnose unless its symptoms are specifically questioned. While there is no absolute cure for dissociative identity disorder (DID), therapy can reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life. DID is a rare condition where you have two or more distinct personality states. The symptoms are often lifelong, but treatments can help you cope. Psychotherapy is the primary treatment for dissociative disorders. This form of therapy, also known as talk therapy, counseling or psychosocial therapy, involves talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health professional.
How long does DID take to diagnose?
Making the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder takes time. It’s estimated that individuals with dissociative disorders have spent seven years in the mental health system prior to accurate diagnosis. Etiology of Dissociative Identity Disorder Dissociative identity disorder usually occurs in people who experienced overwhelming stress or trauma during childhood. Children are not born with a sense of a unified identity; it develops from many sources and experiences. Dissociative identity disorder (as it is clinically known), however, is a severe form that can completely change a person’s sense of identity. Teens are especially prone to this condition when they have experienced severe trauma as a result of physical, emotional or sexual abuse from a young age. Summary. There are a variety of triggers that can cause switching between alters, or identities, in people with dissociative identity disorder. These can include stress, memories, strong emotions, senses, alcohol and substance use, special events, or specific situations. In some cases, the triggers are not known. You may notice sudden changes in mood and behavior. People with dissociative identity disorder may forget or deny saying or doing things that family members witnessed. Family members can usually tell when a person “switches.” The transitions can be sudden and startling.
Can a therapist diagnose DID?
Clinicians who understand DID symptoms can diagnose DID in the clinical interview. There are also paper and pencil tests that can help clinicians diagnose DID and other dissociative disorders. Studies show that DID symptoms improve over time when treated using Phasic Trauma Treatment. Someone diagnosed with DID may feel uncertain about their identity and who they are. They may feel the presence of other identities, each with their own names, voices, personal histories and mannerisms. The main symptoms of DID are: memory gaps about everyday events and personal information. To be diagnosed with DID, a person must: Display two or more personalities (alters) that disrupt the person’s identity, behavior, awareness, memory, perception, cognition, or senses. Have gaps in their memory of personal information and everyday events, as well as past traumatic events. Symptoms of DID often show up in childhood, between the ages of 5 and 10. But parents, teachers or healthcare providers may miss the signs. DID might be confused with other behavioral or learning problems common in children, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At the time a person living with DID first seeks professional help, he or she is usually not aware of their condition. A very common complaint in people affected by DID is episodes of amnesia, or time loss. These individuals may be unable to remember events in all or part of a proceeding time period. The most commonly provided treatment approach for DID is individual psychodynamic psychotherapy (Brand, Classen, McNary, & Zaveri, 2009; Putnam & Loewenstein, 1993).